| PICK UP YOUR VISUAL SCANNING
The Sights & Sounds of the |  |
The Star Wars Trilogy CD-ROM
from Sound Source Interactive
The Star Wars Trilogy CD-ROM of audio/video clips is a great thing for any Star Wars fan to have (well, those with a working computer and CD-ROM drive, anyway.) The CD-ROM, which will work on both PC and Mac computers, is well sectioned, so you can find exactly the piece needed to bring the Star Wars universe onto your computer. There are three initial categories (one per movie), each section divided into audio clips and video captures. From there, the audio clips are further sub-categoried into 8-bit and 16-bit (Qsound, or "3D stereo") sounds. Under these categories, each further divided by characters or effects, there are many cool clips to choose from. You can easily sort through the "alien" file in each section, as well as R2-D2 beeps and tweets, C-3PO sputterings, and quotes from Han, Leia, Luke, Vader, Yoda, and even a few from the Emperor.
The compilation includes one of my favorite audio clips, Leia calling Han a "stuck up, half-witted, scruffy-looking, nerf herder". There are others, such as Threepio telling Artoo to "switch off", as well as the humorous, multi-speeded "boot-up" Threepio goes through when Chewie reactivates him after being blasted in TESB. You'll also find all of the different variations of "bad feeling" that show up throughout the trilogy. Another favorite is where Han tells Chewie:"Laugh it up, fuzzball!"
There are a few disappointments, especially in the video clips department. Unfortunately for you Boba Fett fans, there is only the one video clip of Slave 1 taking off from Bespin. I'm also sorry to tell all of you Wedge fans out there that there are not any clips of him, video or audio. There are even a few video clips of evil ol' Palpatine.
Other interesting clip contributors, in both audio and video, include Jabba the Hutt, Obi-Wan
Kenobi, Yoda, and the Ewoks. 
Although most of the video clips are of Wicket, the Ewok sound
clips feature many of the various tribe members. Especially charming is the Ewok audio clip of
their tribal singing as they prepare Luke, Han, Chewie, and Artoo as a meal to their newfound
god. I admit that I like Ewoks, but would not have minded a video clip of R2-D2 zapping the one
hapless Ewok after being released.
PUTTING STAR WARS TO WORK
As much fun as these sound and visual clips are to sit back and enjoy a la carte, they are designed to serve a bigger purpose. You can assign clips to automatically play as different computer functions are activated via the included program (Personal Desktop for the PC). For instance, I have it set up so when I get into Program Manager at start-up, a video clip of Paploo losing control on the speeder bike plays. Considering that I'm computer illiterate, I use it as a reflection of how crazy things can get once I turn on the computer. That's why I love these clips. You can choose from many different sounds and scenarios to reflect your personality and love for Star Wars.
You can assign a clip or clips to come up each time you press enter, backspace, or any time an
application is opened or closed. You can also add applications so that they will have sounds or
video clips. Say that you want to have Leia say "It looks like I'm stuck here" every time you
press 'home', 
but the 'home' application is not in the list in the Personal Desktop window. You can
add the 'home' application to the list, so that you can assign that clip to that application.
Clips can also be programmed at random. As I write this, Ben Kenobi just told me to remember that the force will be with me.... "always." A video clip of Threepio has been known to pop up and remind me to pay attention to what I am doing. All you do is choose which clips you want to have in the Personal Desktop, and they come up randomly.
"LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THAT THING"
The Star Wars CD-ROM contains over 200 video clips and over 260 different audio clips. Unless you have massive amounts of free space on your hard disk, you'll want to keep the CD-ROM in the drive in order to access the best clips.
Another drawback is the stereo clips, or Qsound. Unlike the sounds in the LucasArts Archives collection, the Qsounds jump from speaker to speaker in a frequently awkward way, and sometimes sound distorted. For instance, in one clip Han's voice goes back and forth between speakers, instead of playing in both or having Han's voice on one and background noises and/or music in the other. This is meant to simulate 3D sound, and although occasional audio clips work this way (notably sound effects), it did not come across as "3D" to me. I much prefer the mono clips; they sound much fuller and true to the movie than the stereo sound does. Unfortunately, not all of the audio clips are available in both stereo and mono.
Also, if you have a slower computer (mine is pretty slow), the sound usually does not match the lips of the speaker in the video clips, resulting in a somewhat Japanese-monster-movie-style Star Wars clip. The only times it is not noticeable is when the speaker is lipless, like Darth Vader, R2-D2, C-3P0, and Chewbacca. In this case, it does pay to have a fast computer.
The CD can be used on both Macs and PCs. Of course, both systems require a CD-ROM drive, as well as at least 4 MB of RAM. In addition, the requirements for a Mac include a Macintosh LC or better, 8MB free hard drive space, and System 6.0.7 or later. It's suggested that a minimum of a 256 color or grayscale monitor be used. The requirements for an IBM/PC compatible are 386DX-25 or better, Windows 3.1, 5 MB free hard drive space, VGA or SVGA monitor, and a sound card.
The manual is on the CD, and saved to hard disk at installation, which is a feature that I did not particularly like. I would rather have a booklet to look at while I am in the program. There are far too many pages in the manual for my little printer to churn out. What I do like, though, is the list of "what's on the CD" that is also put on the hard disk during installation. That saves having to scan the CD from the drive to find what's there. Most of the files have pretty straightforward names, so it makes things pretty easy. Really, the hardest part is configuring things to your own personal tastes.
The price for this item was $46.00 from QVC, although it goes for $29.95 from Borders Bookstores. However, the QVC price included a bonus CD of additional sound and video clips. The bonus CD can be purchased through mail order for 15.95, plus 4.75 shipping/handling. You can order both CDs by calling 1 (800) 877-4778. The ISBN number is 1-57303-021-X.
With over 460 clips to choose from, there are many more choice selections than I can mention here. The clips are almost as varied as those of us who love the trilogy, so there are bound to be things that you just get a kick out of, no matter who your favorite character is or whether you fancy yourself an Imperial or Alliance sympathizer. Being a supporter of the Rebellion, I have my program configured so that the first Death Star blows up when I exit Windows.
Despite all of the copying, adding and removing that I do, I still enjoy this program. It is definitely
worth spending your credits on.
(Danika Lynn Smith can be hailed at 76613.2232@compuserve.com.)
